Phantoms like Memories and Dreams
by CrazieStarGurl
Summary: Sakura and Syaoran go against her wealthy family’s wishes by committing suicide so they can be together forever. But things go wrong and only one of them dies without the other. Why didn’t the other die? What will happen next? S


Japanese translations (in case you don't know)

Arigatou gozaimasu – thank you very much

Onegai – please

Tadaima – a phrase said when people come home. "I'm home!" sort of thing

Okairinasai – a phrase said when people come home. "Welcome home!" sort of thing

**Phantoms like Memories and Dreams**

They were sitting under the tree, hand in hand. The shadow of the large Sakura tree covered them like a mother cradling her child in her arms. The young woman was leaning against the tree, while the young man had his head on her lap, sleeping. She was stroking his auburn hair gently, taking notice of every strand of hair that parted from her fingers. She raised her head towards the sky.

"Today's a beautiful day ne, Syaoran?" She said to him, her hand still stroking his hair. Syaoran opened his eyes, smiling.

"Not as beautiful as you, Sakura." He turned towards the sky. "No wait. You're right. The sky is actually more beautiful than you!" Sakura poked him in the head, pouting, and he chuckled. He raised himself from her lap.

"I'm just joking, Sakura. You're the most beautiful creation in the whole entire world." He said, taking her hand towards his lips, and kissed it. Sakura couldn't help but giggle and blush. She wished this moment would last forever, but she knew she had to return home soon.

"Syaoran, my brother will wonder why I'm taking so long. I said I was going shopping with Tomoyo, but I'm sure he knows shopping doesn't take this long."

"Why didn't you go shopping? You said you needed to buy a new kimono." said Syaoran, stretching his arms.

"Because, silly, I wanted to be with you." Sakura replied, rolling her eyes at the obvious answer.

"I know, but I don't think you should spend so much time with a poor peasant like me. Your family is one richest families in Tomoeda, and I'm not so dumb that I don't know they don't want you to be around me." He said to her, with a serious expression on his face.

"I know about our family's economic situation. I know we're one of the wealthiest families in town, and that you're one of the poorest. But, I feel like none of that really matters because when I'm with you, I feel like nothing can go wrong. When I'm with you, I know I'm genuinely loved." She paused. "The man my brother has chosen for me to marry doesn't make me feel the way you make me feel, Syaoran."

Syaoran let out a sigh. "Sakura, listen to your brother and marry that guy. If you stay with me, you won't have a future. You won't be able to go shopping for new kimonos, or jewellery or…" but he was cut off.

"I don't care!" Sakura shouted, wrapping her arms around Syaoran. Syaoran was taken aback at her bold action. There was a silence between them now, and he could hear tiny sniffles coming from Sakura.

"Sakura…" he said softly, stroking her back. He knew very well how she felt. In fact, he felt the same, and maybe even a bit more, but he knew he could never have her the way he wanted her. At the beginning of their relationship, he probably knew more than anyone that they shouldn't have gone as far as they did. He knew they should've stopped when they met each other at the town theatre when he was playing the lead role in the play. But they were both in too deep to go back now. He grew to love her so much; he didn't want to let her go. Despite this, he told her to listen to her family's wishes, and to be with someone better. She never listened. Even so, the more he tried to convince her that she was better off with someone rich like her, the more he wanted her.

"I love you, Syaoran. I want to be with you. I don't want to be any other man's bride. Let's say we'll get married to each other." There was a long pause between the two of them. Syaoran didn't know what to say since that was the first time he heard Sakura say she loved him. He could feel the thumping in his chest getting louder and faster. Could Sakura hear it, he wondered. Nevertheless, he didn't know what to say. The words he wanted to hear so much throughout their secret relationship were just said to him, but as much as he wanted to say them back, he knew he shouldn't.

"I love you too, Sakura." He said them! Syaoran couldn't help it. It was an automatic reaction! But he didn't stop there. "Let's get married."

Sakura looked into his eyes to see if he was serious. She simply added the marriage part, and wasn't serious about it at all. However, Syaoran's reply surprised her, as it sounded too good to be true.

"Let's do it tomorrow. We'll meet back here at the same time." Said Syaoran.

"I'll buy a new kimono for the special occasion." Sakura said, as she brought his face closer towards hers until their foreheads were touching.

"Finally, we can be together…" She whispered and their lips met.

-----------------------------

Like she said, Sakura bought a new kimono for her wedding day. She picked it with care, virtually going through every kimono store in town and trying on every bridal kimono available. If it the kimono was going to be worn on her wedding day, she thought, then time and grace should put into the selection process. After all, she was going to be wearing it in front of Syaoran too.

The kimono was hidden with a bunch of clothes she mindlessly bought as well so her shopping day wouldn't look suspicious. She purchased so many clothes, there was no way her brother could question the hours she spent going out.

"Tadaima!" She shouted. Several servants came rushing towards her, along with her brother, Touya.

"Okairinasai" He said, raising an eyebrow. "You took an awfully long time."

"Well, as you can see, I did some major shopping today!" Sakura said, pointing to her clothes.

"Did you shop, or did you rob every store in town like the monster you are?" Touya said, picking up a shirt from the closest bag.

"I SHOPPED, and I'M NOT A MONSTER!" Sakura shouted stomping on Touya's foot. The shirt he had in his hand fell out of his hands, and Sakura caught it before it reached the ground.

"Fine fine." Touya rubbed his foot, wincing in pain. His eyes went over the clothes, and noticed an extremely large bag.

"What's in that?" He pointed to the bag.

"That's er…the grand prize I won from ...uh, filling out a survey!" Sakura said, trying to make up the best excuse she could because in that large bag was the bridal kimono. She could let her Touya get away with seeing the new lingerie she bought, but the kimono was a big restriction. Touya could sense her nervousness, so he asked if he could see it.

"Well, I would love to let you see it, but it's sensitive to the light we have in here" Sakura said, grabbing the bag away from her brother's reach. She held onto it tightly.

"Sakura, what do you have in there?" he said to her, putting out his hand. Sakura could feel her brother's suspicion rise. She tried to run into the next room, but Touya ordered the guards to block the entrance. Sakura stopped, and turned to see her brother walking towards her.

"Sakura, I'm your brother. When father passed away, I became your guardian. Now, let me see what's in that bag. This is for your own good." He grabbed the bag from her with so much force, she fell backwards and onto the guards.

Touya ripped open the bag, and gasped when he reached the kimono.

"A bridal kimono?" He said astonished. "This can't be a joke. WHO ARE YOU MARRYING, SAKURA?"

Sakura inched away as much as she could from Touya. She had never seen him so angry before. The guards surrounded her, and for once in her life, she was scared of what her brother would do.

"I'm…I'm...not marrying anyone!" She stuttered, trying to defend herself. But the kimono was too obvious.

"Is it that Li Syaoran kid? Don't tell me it's him! The moment I saw you go up to him after the play at the theatre, I knew something was up. Of all the people in the world you could marry, you choose the poorest thing that ever crawled the earth!"

Sakura could feel the anger forming in her. "I don't care!"

"Shut up! I told you not to go near him, but instead, you choose to be utterly disrespectful by disobeying your family's wishes and our status in town. Do you realize how much face well lose with you marry someone like him? I can't believe you'd rather be with a poor rat like Li Syaoran than the wealthy Yamazaki!"

"I love Syaoran!" Sakura shouted, and Touya stopped in his tracks. "I love him and he loves me, and we're getting married whether you like it or not!" With all her strength, Sakura pushed herself through the guards, and ran to the front doors.

"Guards! I want you to go after her! And if you run into Li Syaoran, deal with him as well!" The guards left quickly. To Touya, the air felt heavy. He was breathing with anger. The bridal kimono was still in his hand. He took it with his other hand, ripping it into a thousand pieces.

-----------------------------

Sakura ran fast so she could be as far away from her brother as possible. She wanted Syaoran more than ever now. She wanted to run away with him to a place where they could be with each other without people telling them what to do. Her throat started hurting from thirst, so she stopped running. After catching her breath, she went into the nearest building.

"Onegai, may I have a glass of water?" She said to the person inside the building.

"My poor dear. Yes, yes you may have some water. I'll be right back." The unknown person came back a minute later with a glass of water. Sakura drank it in one gulp. She could hear people praying in the background, and realized she was in a Buddhist temple. The room was large, and shrines for the Gods were placed at the very end. The person who gave her the glass of water was a monk, dressed in dark orange robes. She asked him what they were praying for.

"They are family members of a recently deceased person. They're praying for their loved one to safely reach the heavens safely." He said with a slow, gentle voice.

"Deceased…" Sakura mumbled. "That's it! Arigatou gozaimasu!" She bowed to the monk, and ran out of the temple.

Sakura ran to the theatre, and found Syaoran there.

"Syaoran! Let's kill…!" She said in mid-breath.

"WHAT? SAKURA! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? ARE YOU POSESSED BY THE DEVIL?' He cried, stepping away from Sakura.

"…ourselves. Let's kill ourselves. My brother found out about our engagement, and he got _very_ angry. In fact, he's probably looking for us right now."

"That's not good." Syaoran wrapped himself around Sakura. "Can't you talk to him? Reason with him? And what's this crazy idea about us killing ourselves?"

"There's no point. My brother wants to kill you. I know he does. He said he was suspicious about us from the start, and the kimono only confirmed his suspicions, not to mention me telling him about us." She said all of it quickly, despite her lack of breath. "The only thing we can do to avoid all of this is to die. I was just at a temple, and I thought, if we can't be together in life, there's no stopping us from being together in death." She looked at Syaoran with her emerald green eyes staring at him with more seriousness than ever. Syaoran's eyes widened, hardly believing what Sakura was saying. But he knew there was no point in arguing with her.

"Okay. I'll meet you at the cliff before sunset. I first have to grab something from home." He was making a leave, but Sakura grabbed his hand.

"I'll go with you." She said.

"You can't afford to be seen with me right now. Not with your brother's guards looking for us." He said. "Go. I'll meet you at the cliff before sunset. I promise." Syaoran smiled with reassurance. Out of feeling she had in her stomach, Sakura kissed him.

"See you soon, Syaoran." She said, waving to him as she ran away.

Syaoran quickly went home, and dug out a small box he had kept hidden in the patch of flowers beside his house. It was a small box, scarcely the size of his palm. He opened it, and took the two rings that were inside.

"Sakura…" He said softly, grasping the rings in his hands.

"You have no right to say the name of our master's sister." Came a voice from the door.

Syaoran turned and saw Touya's guards. There were three of them, each with a club in their monster hands.

"Get out of my way. I'm going to Sakura." Syaoran said angrily. He charged at the guards, punching one in the head, while landing kicks at the other two.

The guards swung their clubs at him, but Syaoran's slim physique allowed him to dodge them easily. In no time, the guards were on the floor, their heads swollen and bruised from Syaoran's punches and kicks. Just when he was about to leave, he stopped at the door, and turned towards the knocked out guards.

"I HOPE THAT TEACHES YOU TO NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE AWESOMENESS OF LI SYAO…" He didn't finish his sentence because a club was swung at his head by a fourth guard that crept up behind him. Syaoran collapsed onto the ground. The other three guards got up, rubbing the lumps on their heads.

"What should we do with him?" One asked to the fourth guard.

The fourth guard placed his foot on Syaoran's chest. "Leave him here. I'm pretty sure that blow to the head killed him."

They left, laughing hysterically.

-----------------------------

Sakura sat at the edge of the cliff, the wind of the ocean lightly blowing her hair. She was waiting for hours for Syaoran to arrive, but she wasn't worried. He promised her that he would arrive, and she knew he always kept his promises. If anyone told her that she would die by jumping off rocky cliffs and into the ocean, then she would've laughed, but her attitude was solemn. Her heart lit up to the idea of being with Syaoran forever, and it was the only thing that stopped her from being scared. Still, she had butterflies in her stomach, and they were beginning to increase as the sky gradually turned from blue to orange.

"Sakura…" came a voice from behind.

Sakura knew, from the voice, that the one calling her wasn't Syaoran. "Touya…get away from me!"

"Sakura, what on earth are you doing? Stay away from that edge. People have slipped from those loose rocks, and fallen to their deaths." He said, reaching out his hand to her.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do, Touya." She said softly. "If you can't let me be with Syaoran in life, then we'll be together eternally in death." Her eyes were fixed on the setting sun. The sky was turning black quickly, but Syaoran still didn't' arrive yet.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. Please, don't do this. I was only thinking of your own good. Please. Get away from there." Touya said, trying to get Sakura away from the edge of the cliff.

The sun was almost gone.

"Touya…" Sakura said, as she got up. But the earth underneath were too loose to support her. They shook. Touya ran as fast as he could to grab Sakura, but she fell.

Sakura was falling with her back facing the water. It was a long fall, and Sakura felt scared. At the moment, she regretted not saying goodbye to her brother. She felt regret for not saying goodbye to her friends. But most of all, she was regretting not being with Syaoran. She bent her head towards the horizon, and saw nothing but a pitch black sky. The sun had disappeared. A tear escaped from the side of her eye, and floated in the air.

Falling.

Falling.

"_Where are you, Syaoran_?" She thought as her body plunged into the water. Her nerves were shot with the icy coldness of the ocean water. Her dress ripped apart from the force of the impact

She gradually sunk deeper into the darkness.

"_Syaoran..."_ Sakura thought as she reached the jagged rocks.

_-------------------to be continued _

Awww. I really didn't want to make Touya bad. I really love Touya. He's one of my favorite characters in CCS because he's soo nice. But I gotta change some of the original characterization or else it won't fit with the story. :D So, how did you like this chapter? I should get working on the next few chapters for Sakura Drops and Death of an Interior Decorator. Please review this chapter:D Opinions are nice.


End file.
